Marauding:Year One
by PursuingDesign
Summary: These four boys never suspected their lives would be an epic. Marauders Era. Remus-centric. Canon.
1. Chapter 1

**Hiya. After I read Remus' new bio on Pottermore, I decided my old story ("Youths") did not deserve to continue. Back then, I was far too busy to start again. Now...I'm just sporadically writing. I guess this is a new start. Kinda like the "Grand Re-Re-Re-Re-Opening" in Bob's Burgers. **

**This story will be about ALL the Marauders. ****  
**

**Disclaimer: I'm not Queen JKR. If I were, shoot, the Marauders movie would already be a thing. **

* * *

Remus Lupin never asked for much. Never asked for new games, books or clothes. All he wanted was to be himself again.

He was too young to be having an existential crisis. But here he was. Only five-years-old, and completely terrified.

It had been a month since the dreadful night that changed his life forever. The night that marked Remus as a full-fledged werewolf.

He didn't remember much of the attack. Just being abruptly awoken by the painful sensation of blood dripping out of his leg in a crescent moon shaped wound.

And now, it was time to face the moon and face reality.

The sun began to set, orange-pink clouds ablaze. Remus used to love sunsets, but these days he wished the sun would shine forever.

His mom, Hope, silently held his hand as they left the air-conditioned house to the large, seemingly-endless backyard. The sticky June heat remained, even as the sky darkened.

Not far ahead the two, Remus' father, Lyall, was preparing the shed for Remus' transformation. He had casted all sorts of charms on the solemn, red shed to make sure Remus couldn't escape.

When the trio united, they only had fifteen minutes till moonrise. Remus trembled, green eyes darting from mother to father.

"I'm scared," he said in a small voice.

Hope kneeled down to meet his eyes and clamped his shoulder.

"Remus, honey," she replied. "It's all right to be scared. But you know what?"

"What?"

"You're my brave little boy," Hope smiled slightly. "You will get through this, Remus. I know you will."

Remus returned the smile and embraced her in a warm hug. He let go and lifted his head.

"Dad?"

"Son," Lyall took a deep breath. "Don't forget that your, uh, _condition _doesn't change who you are. Regardless of what happens in that shed tonight. You're still our bright boy. You'll always be."

Tears dripped from Remus' eyes. He was still their bright boy. That's all that mattered.

Remus glanced down at his plastic wristwatch. It was time. He gave a last fleeting look to his parents and went inside the shed.

Darkness shrouded him. The only source of light came from the barred window. He faintly heard his dad say a charm to lock him inside.

His mind continued to race. His small legs quivered beneath him. Remus ran his fingers through his sandy brown hair.

_Mum and Dad say everything is gonna be okay. I'll be okay. I'll be okay. I'll be—_

The four year old sank to his knees and clawed at his neck. With a thump, the rest of his convulsing body fell to the ground in agony. His blood felt like ice. With each heartbeat, with each breath, Remus lost pieces of his humanity. Fur quickly sprouted all over his body and his height skyrocketed. His bones shifted into the wolfish frame. Then, his sage green eyes turned to yellow gold.

Remus Lupin was gone. The wolf had taken over.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to all who reviewed! As for the one review about making chapters longer, I FEEL YA, I do. I think longer chapters will happen naturally once everything gets into gear. For right now, I'm just ****writing. We'll see.**

**Disclaimer: I ain't JKR. If I were, Teddy Lupin would have gotten a scene in the last film.**

* * *

After his first transformation, Remus was sprawled on the floor, unconscious. His body was bare and dotted with scratches and bites. His right foot bent at an awkward angle and crimson blood dried on the shed's wooden floor.

It was six a.m when Lyall unlocked the shed. From the open door, sunlight streamed inside, illuminating the damage. Not knowing what to expect, Lyall was in shock. He rigidly stood still with his mouth open, looking at his son's mangled body. Guilt rose up inside him and made him nauseous. His son wouldn't be suffering like this if he hadn't defied Fenrir Greyback.

_Stupid of me, _he thought, _stupid, stupid, stupid._

It was Hope's pleads that jarred him back to reality.

"Lyall!" she sobbed, trying to scoop up Remus from the floor. "He's stirring. I can't lift him, his foot is hurt. Help!"

Lyall looked at his crying wife and whimpering son.

"Move away, Hope."

"Excuse me?"

"Do it," he commanded again.

Anxiously and with reservation, she moved. Lyall's hand dug into his pocket. Once he pulled out his wand, he casted _Wingardium Leviosa_.

Remus was levitated into his mother's arms. His green eyes fluttered open.

"Mum?" Remus asked hoarsely. "I don't feel—ouch—good."

His mother caressed his face and shushed him.

"Don't talk," she said. "I don't want you to hurt yourself. Your voice sounds rough, probably from the howling. Dad and I are going to take you to your room. We have some medicine for you. You'll be feeling fine in no time, I promise!"

Then as they walked back to the house, Lyall whispered in her ear, "You have to be careful with promises. Healing him isn't going to be easy…"

"I know, but he needs hope."

Remus became unconscious again. Lyall shook his head and scowled. He would need to make a little more Blood-Replenishing Potion.

"I'll see what I can do."

* * *

When Remus woke up, the navy curtains in his room were closed and the muggle car-themed lamp was turned on. He immediately felt dizzy as his eyes readjusted. Head reeling, he shifted his body to a more comfortable position, but instead was greeted with a sharp pain in his stomach. A gasp escaped his lips.

Undeniably curious, Remus decided to sit up to examine his body, despite the pain. He glanced at his legs which had newly formed scars and his right foot was elevated. His arms seemed all right, minus the terrible aching. He called out for his parents, desperate for answers, for help.

Next thing he knew, his mother rushed into his room.

"Remus!" she said. "Yes, Remus. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling better or I think I do," Remus pondered, eyebrows furrowing. "I don't remember much. Just hatred. Hunger. Everything was blurry. I remember you and Dad picking me up and I wanted to cry so badly, Mum, but I couldn't. I couldn't."

Hope's face contorted in sympathetic sadness. She took his hand and looked directly into his eyes.

"Hey," she said. "It's all right if you cry. Daddy and I…we're going to do everything in our power to make sure you're okay. Everything."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, guys. Here's a way longer chapter. Just like I promised. Writing is getting a lot easier.**

**Side note: I went to see Fall Out Boy last night and it's official: Patrick Stump would be the perfect Peter Pettigrew. (Except for the part where Pettigrew is a traitor and Stump is a godly singer that's not a traitor.)**

**Disclaimer: I'm not JKR. If I were, Albus Severus Potter would have a better name. That poor boy.**

Indeed, the Lupins did do everything in their power to help Remus. They visited multiple apothecaries, healers, and werewolf specialists. All claiming they had the cure. Whether it be through putrid potions, intricate spell work, or torture. The Lupins usually didn't know what they were walking into, but they did so out of Remus' best interest. The thing was, all those people lied. They lied and they wanted to hurt Remus. They were malicious and cruel and did not think he had the right to live. So after years of trying, the Lupins gave up.

They lost enough money to become bankrupt. The moving around constantly didn't help either. As Remus grew older, it was harder to hide his condition. Lying to everyone at his muggle school took a toll on Remus. People caught on after a couple of months. It got to a point where Lyall and Hope decided to just homeschool Remus and limit his outside contact. Lyall devoted himself to teach Remus wandless magic and a few spells. Most of them were either for protection or for productivity, such as a cleaning spell. Lyall also taught Remus the basic spells needed to confine himself during the full moon. Plus, he planned on taking Remus to Ollivander's on his birthday anyway, even though he wouldn't get proper Hogwarts schooling.

The Lupins couldn't deny Remus was a curious kid. He would constantly ask questions. But on February 23rd, 1971, the Lupins wished he wouldn't say a single word.

On that chilly February day, the air was brisk and chilly. The Lupin family had recently moved into a new, one-level house with one of those muggle underground bomb shelters, perfect for Remus' transformations. The kitchen had light pink cabinets with pale white countertops. Lyall hated it, but Hope found it charming.

"C'mon, Hope!" Lyall pleaded. "Let me change the color. It's atrocious!"

"No," she replied sternly as she made crumpets. "It's very 1960s. Makes me feel like a kid. Also, don't be loud. Remus is sleeping."

"Oh, I doubt it," he said, grabbing three plates. "He's probably up reading."

"Fine, fine, fine," Hope put her hands in the air after gently placing the crumpets on the plates. "REMUS! BREAKFAST!"

A rugged, ten-year-old Remus ran from his bedroom.

"Oh, finally!" he said with an rushed tone. "I've been up for hours. Absolutely starving. Hey, dad, do you think you can play a round of Gobstones after we eat? It'd be fun."

And then, a knock.

Lyall's eyes grew in size as he looked through the peephole. Outside there was a man with twinkling blue eyes and half-moon spectacles wearing plum wizard robes.

"No, it can't be," he whispered. "He couldn't have found us!"

"What?" Hope said. "What are you talking about? Who? You're paranoid."

"I'm not," Lyall said. "It's Dumbledore. Remus, get away from the door. Go to the living room."

Lyall took a deep breath. He couldn't leave Dumbledore outside. Dumbledore wasn't stupid. He just wasn't. Lyall didn't want to open the door, but he had to. And so he did.

"Hello, Headmaster," Lyall said tersely.

"Mr. Lupin, why so tense?" Headmaster Dumbledore replied smiling with his right hand outstretched. "It seemed like it was only yesterday you were a first year at Hogwarts. But I''m not here to reminisce and ramble, I'd like to give your son his acceptance letter."

"I believed you're confused, sir," Hope said. Her husband looked at her wildly. Dumbledore was a lot of things, but confused was not one of them. "We have no son."

"Hope," Dumbledore maintained his smile. "I know you have a son. His name, Remus, has been in the book since the day he was born."

"What I meant to say was, uh, we have no son who can go to Hogwarts," she corrected.

Lyall held his wife's hand and continued to block the door.

"We decided to homeschool him," Lyall said assertively.

But there was a _pop_, and Dumbledore was gone. He was no longer standing on their doorstep.

"What the bloody—," Hope grimaced.

The Lupins whipped around to find Dumbledore eating crumpets and playing Gobstones with Remus on the living room floor. They had failed. Silently, they agreed to let Dumbledore talk to him. Maybe he would take Remus' word for it. The two, still hand-in-hand, went to sit on the cream-colored love seat and watch.

"Remus," Dumbledore gently said. "Do you know how to do any magic?"

The ten-year-old's eyes lit up.

"Yes, I do!" he said with a wide smile. "I can do lots of things, thanks to Dad. He taught me how to do Expelliarmus without a wand! Did you know my Dad's great at casting Expecto Patronum? I mean that's how Mum met Dad. He made a boggart go away! Anyway, I'm trying to produce a patronus too, but it's a little tough. I don't have many happy memories that are strong enough."

"Perhaps maybe you will," Dumbledore replied. "I'm the Headmaster at Hogwarts. Would you like to come to school there?"

Lyall clenched his jaw tightly. With nervous anticipation, he looked to his son.

"I would love to!" Remus stood to his feet. But then his smile disappeared and his green eyes dimmed and became stormy. "But I can't, sir. I'm going to home taught. You see, I have, uh, an illness that—"

"I know about your lycanthropy, Remus."

"Wait, what?" Remus said. A bead of sweat broke from his forehead as he paced around the coffee table. "I'm not, I'm not, I'm not…I'm not a werewolf!"

"Remus, there's no need to hide it from me," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "I'm not prejudiced against werewolves. In fact, I find the half-breed legislation rather daft and ignorant. What if I told you that you can come to Hogwarts regardless of your lycanthropy?"

The Lupins stared at Dumbledore with open, gaping mouths. The offer seemed too good to be true.

Remus was the first to object.

"No!" He stomped his foot assertively. "What if people find out? What if I bite someone? I can't, Headmaster. I wouldn't even have a place to transform!"

"Don't fret," the Headmaster chuckled and stood up as he rolled a Gobstone marble between his fingers. "People won't find out if you're clever in your tales. Your professors will know so they can give you make-up work. And not to blow my own trumpet, but I have devised a rather sneaky plan for your transformations. When the current school year is over, Herbology Professor Pomona Sprout and I will plant a Whomping Willow, a violent tree that attacks if someone is near unless they touch a certain knot to immobilize it. Underneath the tree is a passage to a shack in Hogsmeade which has numerous charms placed on it. I actually encouraged a rumor that the place is haunted with shrieking ghosts so your howls will be covered. Also, we have a fantastic healer, Madame Pomfrey, on site. It's a pretty good plan, if I say so myself."

"Good?" Mr. Lupin exclaimed. "It's bloody brilliant! Son, listen to me. This is your chance. You can have a future, more than what I can give you. However, I won't push you. It's your choice. I won't make you go if you don't feel comfortable enough."

Remus looked down at his feet, still unsure. So many thoughts were running through his head. After a couple of minutes, he came to a conclusion.

"I'll go," he said. "I'll go."


End file.
